Thank you very much! I think I will go and get him and hope he turns out okay, if not, he can just look after the flockiThis is a UK bird from their National meet a couple weeks ago. This male is at the darkest end to be acceptable in the UK. Walt
Good for you! and good luck in your search for Isbars, you definitely won't regret getting them......
I like the male in your photo. Sadly in UK the pendulum has swung to a very very light looking preference that I consider kind of monochromatic (Black & White mostly) --- The cockerel pictured has a lot of nice things going for him from my view -- nice long back, nice low tail angle, nice yellow legs and beak. His crest looks particularly small...it would make me wonder if he had only one -cresting gene- If you were to ask some over there (sadly IMO) they would tell you it isn't a CL -- but some out-cross. -- There is an article in the Practical Poultry UK magazine -- October 2015 issue about - Cream Legbar buying guide, and they emphasize an interview with Emily de Gray -- who I believe just won at the Nationals over there with one of her chickens -- talking about how they feel coloration is undesirable. -- If you wanted to participate in poultry shows -- you would have a long road to match what they are showing over there right now from what I can tell..... If you want a nice healthy beautiful looking and distinctive cockerel for your flock - I think that you have a winner ......... Kind of like buying a computer -- what do you want to use it for.
ETA - looks like he has a straight comb too - and white earlobes which the USA standard calls for - there in UK you can have white or off-white(cream) earlobes). If you aren't interested in poultry showing -- he looks particularly nice -- if the owner can show you blue (instead of green eggs) that he hatched from and if he has a nice weight -- there are a LOT of good things going for him. :O) (However you could get push back from some of your fellow U.K.ers telling you it isn't a CL -- if you have a thick enough skin and aren't swayed tremendously by the views of some of the others -- go for it. ;O)
If it were me, and I could get original Isbar hatching eggs--- I would.
Mr. Smith is my biggest at 4.65 lbs at 12 weeks, with a great blocky body type. He's top light blue line on the growth chart below (these are for a meat flock, so I've been tracking weight per week - Naked Necks have a pretty big difference between cockerels and pullets pretty early, as you can see).F.A.F. - He does look menacing! -- how much did he weigh. Love your stories about your chickens... you should write a children's book (or an adult book? or a blog --- about their adventures -- or -- keep posting here on BYC.....Yes your memory is correct -- Ddore IS a Robin and Ice chick...and I am soo glad to hear good behavior reports and so glad that he was rescued by you.
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Thanks so much!! For everyone who has my genetics somewhere in their flock -- please remember that if tragedy should hit me hard and I lose all my critters -- I would be coming back to you to try to purchase some hatching eggs.
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Thanks for the updates of the great chickens. Remember that the most important thing we can do to improve the breed is breed for good type, good weight, good heads, nice straight combs on males etc. -- For some of us -- blue eggs and high productivity are a real prioroty too.
Thanks Walt,i
This is a UK bird from their National meet a couple weeks ago. This male is at the darkest end to be acceptable in the UK.
Walt
Two other things I just noticed about him... One is that his wing on the wing triangle -- the very end --shows a lot of 'gold' -- This could indicate that he is lacking the magical gold dilution gene -- but something else that struck me -- is above his wing triangle is a nice definite -- albeit barred band. -- below his chestnut shoulder, there is a barred straight line -- and this is something I want to breed for in my flock too--- it (in my mind- traces back to the duckwing)--- in this illustration you can see an artist rendition where there is a patch of red on the top of the wing, then a barred 'stripe' on the wing before it ends in the wing triangle:Thank you sooo much! So kind of you! The first thing I noticed about him was the invisible crest, it's great to have back up. I think I will try and get him, and maybe cross with one of my brown layers for an EE or OE if he doesn't turn out the best, I wouldn't want to tarnish the good Cream Legbar with some bad breeding!
Thanks ChicKat, very interesting reading. I'm quite proud I picked out this guy, all I can hope now is that he turns out friendly, unlike other cream legbar cockerels I have known in the past!Two other things I just noticed about him... One is that his wing on the wing triangle -- the very end --shows a lot of 'gold' -- This could indicate that he is lacking the magical gold dilution gene -- but something else that struck me -- is above his wing triangle is a nice definite -- albeit barred band. -- below his chestnut shoulder, there is a barred straight line -- and this is something I want to breed for in my flock too--- it (in my mind- traces back to the duckwing)--- in this illustration you can see an artist rendition where there is a patch of red on the top of the wing, then a barred 'stripe' on the wing before it ends in the wing triangle:so this is of a true gold bird -- with the brown wing triangle shown by the arrow -- if you look between the shoulder red and the brown (gold) wing triangle you see that stripe of barring -- which as I said to me reaches back to the 'duck wing' aka 'wild type' of the CL -- This photo also shows that wing bar (line)-- except without barring so it is solid because he is a silver duckwing:
Since he is a silver he has no red, of course, but you see his white wing triangle and the dark bar then the lighter upper part of his wing.... I'm selecting to get that neat 'stripe' if you will - although it will be barred in CL --
I can see that duckwing stripe in some of mine...or see where it belongs -- but I want to work to get a clean definite line--- and I like the way that line shows up in the guy you are considering getting. :O)
